Can One Master Distiller Change a Tequila? Casa México Blind Taste Test!

[00:00:00] Can one master distiller completely change a tequila? Today I'm putting that question to the test and I'm doing a blind today. I have two bottles of Casa Mexico in front of me. One Casa Mexico existed before Maestro Tecalera, Ana Maria Romaro took over the production side of this brand and the new one right here is under her direction. The way you find it is when you look at the bottle you look from for her signature. [00:00:28] Now I'm doing it blind. You know, I am using the fantastic solar blind. I did pre pour these, so now I don't know which one is which. I did write just the letter N for the new one and I just wrote the letter O for the old one. I did just get the opportunity to Visit this distillery, 1589 La Galleria, or spend some time with Danny, who's heavily involved with the distillery operations. Casa Mexico is made at nom 1589. It is a celebrity backed brand brand with Mario Lopez and Oscar de La Hoya as partners. But the person that really caught my attention was Anna Maria Romaro. When she makes a tequila, I have to say I always liked them. She's been in the industry for years, makes fantastic tequila and is the person that actually created the aroma wheel. Now let's talk about how the new tequila is made. It is all 100% Blue Weber Agave. It's bottled at 40 ABV. I've seen the brick ovens that it's cooked in and also the roller mill that's there. And and it's naturally fermented in big open fermentation tanks. And it is twice distilled. And they did had both copper and stainless steel stills that have copper coils. This one actually uses the stainless steel stills with the copper coils. Okay, so let's dive in and see if I can tell which one is which and if the new one is better because I have to admit, not a real fan of the original Casa Mexico. So let's dive into the nose. Little bit of cooked agave. Honestly, this one has a very light note. Cooked agave, a little bit of a funky note, a little bit of some minerality. This one has a little bit of a fruity note of some kind of fruit. So definitely like the nose of this one More. This one really smells like a more traditional tequila. Let's dive into the taste. Yeah, that's got a sweetness to it. It has a weird peppery spice to it. A very light mouthfeel. That's the old one, I have a feeling. Still sweet, but not sweet. Like it is in this one. Dice, cooked agave, a little bit of orange peel or orange zest. It does have a nice peppery note to it. It does heat up in the finish. It definitely has a little more balance. You can feel that in the glass. 100%. This has to be the new one. [00:02:32] This one tastes, smells everything better than this one. [00:02:37] That one I wouldn't drink. [00:02:39] There you go. That's the new one. [00:02:41] So give it up for Costa Mexico. They definitely upped their brand. They definitely made their tequila better. Anna Marie, as a master distiller, can make big changes to the tequila that they make. And when tequila is made the right way, it tastes fantastic. And on this one, I'm going to say Anna Maria for the win. This was a pretty significant change in the tequila. Same brand, same nom, just a different person influencing how this is produced and making sure that it's produced a way that she's comfortable putting her name on it. I'm not going to say that this is the best tequila I've ever had or that I'm going to run out and purchase this tequila right away, but I am going to say it's now a viable option for me. So if I'm going to make a cocktail here and I want to find something that I know that has a good flavor to it, I'm going to pour this one and I'm going to give it a shot. I'm also potentially going to try sipping on it a little bit just to see if it grows on me even more. I guess getting the old one out of my mind and getting used to the new one is important to give it a fair shot. And I can't wait to taste the reposado and the anejo that'll be coming out in Anna's recipe as well. If you like learning about tequila and you like learning about different brands and what's going on in the industry, definitely check out the Tequila Report. Go to the Tequila Report.com/subscribe. 63,000 people get it in their email every single week, and you should too. Definitely check it out. If you've had Casa Mexico, tell me in the comments what you think of it. And if you have had the new version, let me know what your thoughts are between the old one and the new one. And can a brand change so much that they get aficionados to drink something that once before they would not? I'd love to hear what you think. Cheers. Have a great night.